VELA related scans and ephemera

There were significant numbers of reviews and marketing documentation published for the VELA of which only small numbers of originals appear to remain. You can click on the images below to open 300dpi full colour scans of them or download the PDF's.

Revealing VELA

Statpack VELA software leaflet

VELA sales leaflet - side 1

The following leaflet is of particular historical significance as the VELA shown on the right appears to be a pre-production model with a fascia and keyboard panel which does not resemble any of the production models where they are all built as a single panel. The photo below clearly shows the keyboard element of the fascia is a separate part to the rest of the front panel.

Wikipedia links

WANTED!!!

If you've come across this page because you've found a dusty old VELA or any of the peripherals I've mentioned on the site in the store cupboard of the science department and you're wondering what you can do with it... You could always consider donating it to a good home such as mine where it would be reunited with a BBC Micro, archived for the future and used!

Although I now have many VELA related items, I am still missing many more bits and pieces so if you happen to have a VELA, any VELA software, manuals or related VELA handbooks, then I'd still be very interested in hearing from you so please do get in touch!

Of particular interest are any VELA SAM4 compatible modules and software for the RM380Z, Apple II and IBM-PC's of the day which currently are lost to the mists of time with the prospects of viable floppy discs containing the software being more remote as the years go by.

Getting Started with VELA

In 1992, after a successful A-Level Chemistry project using the BBC Micro and a VELA data logging device, I was commissioned by my teachers to write a simple "Getting Started Guide to VELA" as the original documentation was heavy going and the VELA device was relatively difficult to configure correctly.

Over the years, I have lost (misplaced) my digital copy of the original guide but I do have an original print out of it. I've faithfully OCR'd the original and made some corrections to it making it clearer and easier to read.

Whether it is of use to anyone or not, I don't know but if anyone has a VELA device and needs to figure out how it works, hopefully, my getting started guide should help.

VELA Technical Downloads

ROMs

The following ROM images are Mk I EPROMS and are incompatible with the ISL1* ROM from the VELA Mk II. You can use the Mk I ROMs in a VELA Mk II or VELA PLUS but there are several differences in the data formats they produce when exporting from the VELA so when sending data to a microcomputer, it should be told it is connected to a Mk I VELA.

Contributors

I'd like to thank Jon Neville-Green of The Discovery Academy School in Stoke-On-Trent who kindly arranged for me to obtain their VELA which had been gathering dust in exchange for a donation to the Science department at the Academy. Thank you very much.

I'd also like to thank Cathy Herriman of Sherborne School for providing me with a full surplus set of manuals and supporting books and documents for the VELA in exchange for a donation to the School funds. Thank you.

Finally, I'd like to thank Mr Robert Boyd of Glossop High School in Adelaide and Dr. Ashley Clarke (one of the original creators of VELA) who have both contributed information in various e-mails that has allowed me to build up and present a wider picture of the VELA data logger and what it could do.